SHELF
What does "SHELF" mean?
A flat horizontal surface fixed to a wall or in a frame, used for storing or displaying things.
Meanings
- A thin flat board fixed horizontally so objects can be placed on it. She reached for the cookbook on the top shelf.
- A ledge of rock, sand, or ice, especially a submerged or projecting one. Fishing boats work the shallow waters of the continental shelf.
- A state of being set aside, postponed, or no longer active (in the phrase 'on the shelf'). The merger plan has been on the shelf since the funding fell through. figurative
Did you know?
- Continents don't stop at the shoreline - they keep going underwater as a shallow 'continental shelf' that can stretch hundreds of kilometres out to sea before the seabed suddenly drops into the deep.
Word origin
From Middle English 'shelfe', probably from Middle Low German 'schelf' meaning a set of shelves; related to Old English 'scylfe', a ledge or floor.
Remember it
A SHELF is just a SHELL turned flat to hold things up - swap the final L for an F.
A little poem
The books I meant to read stand in a row-
a shelf of futures I keep saying no.
couplet
Wordplay
- I told the bookcase a secret, but it just kept everything on the shelf.
What it teaches
What you 'shelve for later' is often a quiet way of deciding never; choose the shelf on purpose.
Quick facts
What does SHELF mean?
A flat horizontal surface fixed to a wall or in a frame, used for storing or displaying things.
Is SHELF a valid word?
Yes — SHELF is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is SHELF?
SHELF has 5 letters and 1 syllable.
Where does SHELF come from?
From Middle English 'shelfe', probably from Middle Low German 'schelf' meaning a set of shelves; related to Old English 'scylfe', a ledge or floor.
What can SHELF teach us?
What you 'shelve for later' is often a quiet way of deciding never; choose the shelf on purpose.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.